GHANA COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED v. BULKSHIP & TRADE LTD & ANOR
2015
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- DOTSE JSC (PRESIDING)
- BAFFOE-BONNIE JSC
- GBADGEBE JSC
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Commercial Law
- Constitutional Law
2015
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Applicants, a commercial bank, filed claims against the Respondents for outstanding credit facilities and interest. The High Court dismissed these claims and granted part of the Respondents' counterclaim. After unsuccessful attempts in subsequent applications for stay of execution, the Applicants sought a review from a panel of Judges, requesting a reversal of the single Judge's decision that denied their application for stay of execution. The panel concluded that the single Judge's decision remained valid and upheld the initial ruling, maintaining the 25% payment of the judgment debt by the Applicants, and declined any secured undertaking by the Respondents. The application was ultimately refused and dismissed.
RULING
DOTSE JSC:-
This Ruling is at the instance of an application by the Plaintiffs/Appellants/Applicants, hereafter referred to as the Applicants, seeking a variation, discharge or reversal of the ruling of a single Judge of this Court, dated 20th November 2014 pursuant to article 134 (b) of the Constitution 1992 and Rule 73 of the Supreme Court Rules, 1996, C. I. 16.
By the ruling of the single Judge dated 20th November 2014, an application for stay of execution and proceedings or suspension of the entry of judgment in favour of the Defendants/Respondents/Respondents, hereafter referred to as Respondents was refused.
FACTS OF THE CASE
The Applicants, a reputable Commercial Bank in Ghana, filed claims against the Respondents herein in the Commercial Division of the High Court in respect of various sums of money outstanding under overdraft and or credit facilities extended to the 1st Respondents, who are a limited liability company in Ghana, carrying out the business of oil trading, supply of petroleum products, bunkering among others.
The 2nd and 3rd Respondents are directors of the 1st Respondent company. Included in the claims against the Respondents in the High Court was a claim for interest on overdraft/credit facilities extended to them as well as penal interest of 10% on the sums claimed. The Respondents denied the claims against them and instead endorsed a counterclaim against the Applicants by which they claimed several declaratory and other judicial reliefs plus recovery of various sums of money endorsed therein against the Applicants.
The Commercial Division of the High Court, Accra dismissed the entirety of the Applicant’s claims against the Respondents, but granted in part the latter’s counterclaim in excess of about GH¢80,000,000 plus.
The Applicants appealed the judgment on the counterclaim in favour of the Respondents. Following an application for stay of execution filed in the trial High Court by the Applicants, the High Court on the 5th day of February 2014 granted same in the following terms:-
“The Plaintiff/Applicant shall pay to the 1st Defendant/Respondent the sum equivalent to 25% of the entire judgment debt as set out in the Entry of Judgment after Trial filed by the Defendants/Respondents.”
It is instructive to note that, the trial High Court also ordered the 2nd and 3rd Respondents herein to file an undertaking in the same terms as they provided to the Applicants during the transaction which gave rise to the action so